8/14/2012

Why you don't want to rob a gun store, apparently even at night in this case

A gun store owner apparently used an AR-15 with a 30 round magazine to stop three men from robbing his gun store at 4 AM. What can make a gun useful for a criminal can also make it useful to a victim who wants to defend him or herself. This story is from Aiken Standard (Georgia) (with video):

At least one person is dead and two have been injured after the owner of a gun store was robbed early this morning and shot at the intruders during the break-in, officials said.The victim has been identified as 20-year-old K'Raven Aude Goodwin of Eastover, S.C. According to officials, Goodwin died from multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival at the Georgia Health Sciences Medical Center in Augusta, Ga.Another man is in the emergency room and a third is in surgery, said Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton.The break-in occurred around 4 a.m. at the Guns and Ammo Gunsmith, located on Edgefield Road in North Augusta.The events surrounding the shooting unfolded when deputies learned of a break-in at the gun store and that two men were at the Waffle House on Martintown Road seeking medical help for gunshot wounds, said Aiken County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Jason Feemster.One suspect was still at the gun store and injured, police said. Police also found a vehicle had crashed into the side of the business."They used a van as a way to get in," Feemster said.The business owner, Stephen Bayazes Jr., who reportedly lives in the rear of the business, reportedly heard a loud crash and the store alarm went off, police said. He then went to check on the store, and said he found three males in the store, police said."That's when there was gunfire," Feemster said. Feemster said Bayazes advised police that one of the suspects verbally threatened him with death when they saw him, and Bayazes stated he then began shooting at the suspects. Bayazes told police he then retreated to his apartment and, that upon his return to the front of the store, a van was leaving. He also found a wounded suspect still at the shop, police said.The business owner was not injured, he said. . . .

More information on the gun used by the store owner is available here: